August 24, 2012

The California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to approve a $286,398 grant to Verizon California, Inc. to bring high-speed internet broadband service to Swall Meadows and Crowley Lake even before the Digital 395 project is completed, according to Steven Kalish.

Kalish is a Swall Meadows resident who has been working on the issue for several years.

The cable must be in place by Jan. 28, Kalish said.

â€śThey are under orders to get it done by then,â€ť he said.

The new cable is considered to be â€śmitigationâ€ť for previous violations made by Verizon when the company strung aboveground cable between Crowley Lake and Mammoth Lakes without the necessary permit for aboveground cables, he said.

â€śThe grant will cover about 34 percent of the project cost,â€ť Kalish said in an email to the Mammoth Times.

â€śDownload speeds of three megabytes to 10 megabytes per second, and uploads of at least one megabyte per second, will be available to Verizon landline customers for $39 per month, with a one-year service commitment. There will also be a one-time fee of $75 for modem and service activation.â€ť (Non-landline customers can also obtain standalone broadband service, at a higher cost.)

â€śThe new high-speed broadband service will utilize existing copper phone lines to residences, which will be connected through new nodes to Verizonâ€™s existing fiber optic cable running between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes,â€ť he said.Â

The grant approval was made byÂ Resolution T-17350, which will be available on the PUCâ€™s website at www.cpuc.ca.gov, he said.